COINTELPRO

The Smearing of Jean Seberg

This is another example of the tactics used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to
stifle legitimate dissent in Hollywood. Following my going public about the inconsistancies I found in the
Vincent Foster affair, I was subjected to similar treatment.

Jean Seberg, a well known actress in the 60s, became pregnant and the FBI sent out letters to the
gossip columnists identifying the baby's father as a Black Panther, in order to cheapen Seberg's image.

The scans below are of the official FBI letter from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. asking
permission for the scam.

The text of the letter.

"Bureau permission is requested to publicize the pregnancy of Jean
Seberg, well-known movie actress by (name deleted) Black Panther (BPP)
(deleted) by advising Hollywood "Gossip-Columnists" in the Los Angeles
area of the situation. It is felt that the possible publication of
Seberg's plight could cause her embarrassment and serve to cheapen her
image with the general public.
" 'It is proposed that the following letter from a fictitious person
be sent to local columinists:
"I was just thinking about you and remembered I still owe you a favor.
So ---- I was in Paris last week and ran into Jean Seberg, who was
heavy with baby. I thought she and Romaine [sic] had gotten together
again, but she confided the child belonged to (deleted) of the Black
Panthers, one (deleted). The dear girl is getting around!
" 'Anyway, I thought you might get a scoop on the others. Be good and
I'll see you soon.
'Love,
" 'Sol.,
"Usual precautions would be taken by the Los Angeles Division to
preclude identification of the Bureau as the source of the letter if
approval is granted."

The results of the letter.

Permission was granted, but with the suggestion that the smear be delayed
until Jean Seberg's pregnancy was in a very obvious condition.

The story was picked
up by Newsweek and the international press. The shock of the story was so
severe that Jean Seberg suffered a miscarriage. The funeral for the child
was held with an open casket, so that the lie stood revealed in it's most
tragic form. Jean Seberg, her baby dead and her career shattered by this
outright lie, attempted suicide several times, finally succeeding in a
French Hotel.

(The name which was redacted from the memo during the FOIA process
is thought by many to have been Raymond Hewit, a Black Panther leader.
His "outright lie" was far more direct. The FBI typed up a letter on official
FBI stationary identifying Hewit as an informant and planted it where
other Black Panthers would find it in the hopes that Hewit would then be
killed.)

Following Seberg's death, the Los Angeles Times, the key instrument of her
torment, issued a statement by the FBI.

"The days when the FBI used derogatory information to combat advocates
of unpopular causes have long since passed. We are out of that
business forever."

The Senate committee that looked into COINTELPRO disagreed, however.

"Cointelpro activities may continue today under the rubric of
'investigation.'

(From my own experiences in Hollywood following my interest in the Vincent
Foster murder, I can attest that the Senate committee has a far more
accurate grasp of reality.)